The weather is probably the most important reason for price volatility in any given year. However, lots of other factors can also play a role. Dr. Patrick Westhoff, Director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia, discusses grain supply and demand factors in this 2018 outlook.

Leaders of the Congressional agriculture committees began 2017 with the best of intentions to get a jump start on the 2018 Farm Bill in hopes of finalizing it well before its expiration in September 2018. Despite their efforts, there has been no actual legislative action on the Farm Bill to date, but House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway is poised for action in early 2018. The big question is if the Congressional agriculture committees will be able to fund all their priorities within the spending limits.